Alan Tudyk Claims He Was Removed From 'I, Robot' Press And Marketing Because He Tested Better Than Will Smith
Alan Tudyk claims that 20th Century Fox removed him from the press and marketing campaigns for I, Robot because he tested better than Will Smith.
During an appearance on Toon’d In with Jim Cummings, Tudyk shared, “So, a lot of people didn’t know I did Sonny the robot in I, Robot, and there’s a reason for that. Because they were doing test audiences with the movie and they score the characters in this kind of test audience and I got word back, ‘Alan, you’re testing higher than Will Smith.’”
“And then I was gone,” he shared.” I was done. There was no publicity and my name was not mentioned. … And I was so shocked. I was like, ‘But wait, what? How do they-? Nobody’s boing to know that I-.’ And they’re like, ‘Mhm. Mhm. Uhuh.’”
Tudyk added, “I put a lot into it because he had to move like a robot. So I had to move-. It was very- It was whatever it was. At the time I was very upset. It took me-. That was something I had to-.
What do you make of Tudyk’s claims?
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What Tudyk's talking about is a Focus Group.
H-wood uses Focus Groups as a litmus test for message.
When I was in one back in the 80s, the questions weren't about the impact of the movie or how well it was received. Specific questions were such: "How did you view the gay character?" "Was the lesbian sympathetic?"
MESSAGE MESSAGE MESSAGE Money is secondary and only a vehicle for message.
Sonny was the highlight of that visually-pleasing but vapid film.